Sunday, December 06, 2015

Liberty University President: Arm Yourself to "End Those Muslims"

I have long said that Jerry Falwell's Liberty University is a blight on the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Religious extremism is the norm at the "university," its former law dean is suspected to aid in a kidnapping, and longings for a theocracy are seemingly common.  Now, Jerry Falwell, Jr. - who would be a middle aged nobody except for his hate-filled extremist father -  appears to be trying to spark a religious war between Christianity and Islam by calling on Christians to arm themselves to "end those Muslims."  It's a mentality right out of the Medieval Europe and the Crusades, but then again, Medieval religious beliefs reign at Liberty.  How this "university" retains accreditation is a mystery to me since everything it stands for opposes the pursuit of knowledge.  Falwelll later tried to walk back his statement to refer only to "Islamic terrorists," but I suspect the early broad statement about killing Muslims is what he really meant.  He'd probably like to include gays on the list of those to be killed as well. The Washington Post looks at this latest lunacy.  Here are excerpts:

The president of Liberty University, a popular pilgrimage site for presidential candidates, urged students during the school’s convocation Friday to get their permits to carry concealed weapons.

In his remarks, President Jerry Falwell Jr., son of the late religious right leader Jerry Falwell Sr., pressed students at the Christian school in Lynchburg, Va., to carry weapons on campus following Wednesday’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif.

“I’ve always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in,” he says, the rest of his sentence drowned out by loud applause while he said, “and killed them.”

Falwell said that when he referred to “those Muslims,” he was referring to Islamic terrorists, specifically those behind the attacks in Paris and in San Bernardino. “That’s the only thing I would clarify,” Falwell said. “If I had to say what I said again, I’d say exactly the same thing.”

A spokesman for Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) sent the following statement on Saturday:
“My administration is committed to making Virginia an open and welcoming Commonwealth, while also ensuring the safety of all of our citizens. Mr. Falwell’s rash and repugnant comments detract from both of those crucial goals,” McAuliffe said. “Those of us in leadership positions, whether in government or education, must take care to remember the tremendous harm that can result from reckless words.”
Liberty University’s convocation service, held three times a week in a 12,000-seat sports arena, is mandatory for the schools’ students who live on campus and is also watched by thousands of its 95,000 online students.

Falwell said his comments have generated the most positive comments he has ever received for remarks made during convocation. “The support here on campus is almost universal,” he said.

Liberty University and the agenda it pushes are down right frightening and in my view, anyone who is a student at Liberty might need to be added to the watch list of right wing extremists.

No comments: